Israel had a secret program that gave weapons and funding to Syrian rebel groups

Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

• Israel secretly armed and funded at least 12 rebel groups in southern Syria, according to more than two dozen members of these groups.
• The military transfers included assault rifles, machine guns, mortar launchers, transport vehicles, and monthly payment.
• This funding was intended to help prevent Iran-backed fighters and militants of the Islamic State from taking up positions near the Israeli border.

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Israel secretly armed and funded at least 12 rebel groups in southern Syria that helped prevent Iran-backed fighters and militants of the Islamic State from taking up positions near the Israeli border in recent years, according to more than two dozen commanders and rank-and-file members of these groups.

The military transfers, which ended in July of this year, included assault rifles, machine guns, mortar launchers, and transport vehicles. Israeli security agencies delivered the weapons through three gates connecting the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to Syria — the same crossings Israel used to deliver humanitarian aid to residents of southern Syria suffering from years of civil war.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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